25 Missions

(Copyright Mel Steinhauer all rights reserved) During the air war over Europe in World War II, Boeing's B-17 Flying Fortress was an extremely popular... more

by Mel Steinhauer

Title

25 Missions

Artist

Mel Steinhauer

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

(Copyright Mel Steinhauer all rights reserved) During the air war over Europe in World War II, Boeing's B-17 Flying Fortress was an extremely popular airplane among the crew members who flew in them. The British Royal Air Force conducted night-time bombing missions over France And Germany as they had quickly discovered that day time missions were too dangerous. So, the U.S. Army's 8th Air Force commanders ordered daylight bombing to more accurately destroy the enemy's military targets and bring the war to a quicker end. However, many planes and crew were lost in the early days of the German Luftwaffe's air superiority so the morale of the U.S. air crews quickly deteriorated. In an effort to improve morale and inspire these crews, it was ordered that any crew who survived a specific number of bombing runs their tour of combat duty would end and they could return home to the United States. The results were positive and the 10 brave men who flew in a Flying Fortress named the Memphis Belle were the first group of heroes to return home in glory after they completed ... 25 Missions.

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Uploaded

July 26th, 2014